[Abstract] Language, as the carrier of culture, is created d(2)
2013-08-19 01:05
导读：2. The evolution of linguistic taboo The word taboo (also spelled as tabu, tapu and kapu) was borrowed from Tonga, an island group in Polynesia, and its first recorded use in English was by Captain Ja
2. The evolution of linguistic taboo
The word taboo (also spelled as “tabu”, “tapu” and “kapu”) was borrowed from Tonga, an island group in Polynesia, and its first recorded use in English was by Captain James Cook (1729-1779), a British navigator. He came to the Archipelago of Tonga during his explorations in the southern part of the Pacific Ocean. There he heard the word from the local people, which originally referred to persons, activities (including speech), or things under prohibition because they were considered, on the one hand, ”sacred” and “consecrated”, and on the other, “uncanny”, “dangerous” and “unclean”. He introduced it into English in his description of his third voyage around the world in 1777.But taboo phenomena are not unique in Tonga. Instead, it has long existed in all cultures and language throughout the world. [2]
As we have mentioned above, linguistic taboo is not only a linguistic phenomenon but also a kind of social phenomenon. The development of society has influenced the development of linguistic taboo. So if we want to reveal the whole picture of linguistic taboo, we must have a review of the history of linguistic taboo. “The evolution of linguistic taboo has generally experienced three stages according to the history of human society: the primitive superstitions stage, the feudal patriarchal stage, and modern democratic stage. But there is no explicit demarcation line between three stages.”[3]
2.1 The primitive superstitious stages
As we all know, In the primitive society, people didn’t get to know well about nature, most natural phenomena such as lightning, thunder, storm, earthquake, were beyond the understanding of human beings. When these phenomena happened, they thought that certain supernatural creatures possessed great power. They thought that if they were loyal to these supernatural creatures, they would be safe or rewarded. If they acted against them, they would be punished severely. As a result, the primitive people created different kinds of gods. They held a strong religious conviction that these gods controlled the world that they were living in. So the first thing they did was to respect these gods through language. There is an example from the Seventh Commandment of the Ten Commandment in Bible “You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not acquit anyone who misuses his name”. [4]
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In a word, the earliest linguistic taboo emerged as a result of the ignorance and superstition of the primitive people in ancient times.
2.2 The feudal patriarchal stage
Feudal society is rigidly stratified. A country of feudalism is usually controlled by the royals and sometimes together with those considered with great power given by god.
During the feudal times, people were not equal to the rulers and were suppressed by their superiors. The distinction between the upper and the lower classes was also reflected in the evaluation of the language used by them respectively. The words of upper class used were considered good and elegant while those used by the lower class were regarded as vulgar and indecent and should be avoided in the speech of ladies and gentlemen. For example, when referring to ‘出汗’ , duchesses used the word ‘perspire’, but the female servants used ‘sweat’; when referring to ‘吐痰’ ,the former people used ‘expectorate’, but the latter used ‘spit’ ; As for ‘月经’, the former used ‘menstruate’, but the latter used ‘bleed’. The maxim “Horses sweat; men perspire; young ladies glow” more or less can reflect the stratified usage of words which have the same meaning in this period. [5] In China, during the feudal times, men usually play a dominant role in family. We can see it from the Chinese expressions “三从四德” ,“三纲五常”etc. In order to strengthen their position and to prevent their subjects from violating them, the royals and kings put forward different kinds of prohibitions and bans. For instance, to show their authority and majesty, the name of the emperor and his ancestors should not be mentioned. At the same time, people always avoided speaking out their parents’ names or even the characters in their parents’ names. The old saying “古人闻父名而泣” can prove this point.
Most linguistic taboos during this period were put into effect by rulers in order to maintain their superior social position and keep the society under their control. However, some of them, because of their deep-rooted influence on people’s mind, still remain in language even after the colla
pse of the social system
（转载自http://zw.ＮＳＥaＣ.com科教作文网） 2.3 The modern democratic stage
In modern society, as a result of the development of science and technology, many natural phenomena are no longer mysterious. Human beings not only constantly improve their abilities to exploit the world where they are living through their great wisdom and knowledge, but also make efforts to explore the extraterrestrial world. Science has much more say in today’s society. Thereby, the superstitious elements in linguistic taboos decrease while those reflecting spiritual civilization increase.
